We’re incredibly proud to announce that The Friary School has been awarded the Eco-Schools Green Flag Award with Distinction.
This prestigious national award recognises our commitment to sustainability and environmental education, celebrating the collective efforts of our students, staff, families and wider school community in making a positive impact on the environment.
The journey towards this achievement began when our previous Headteacher, Mr Allman, identified 2025–26 as the ‘Year of the Environment’ and set the school on a path towards strengthening its environmental awareness and action.
From recycling and reducing waste to caring for outdoor spaces and learning how to protect our planet, students across the school have embraced the initiative with enthusiasm, responsibility and commitment.
In awarding the Green Flag, judges commented that:
“Your school’s greatest success this year has been the growing awareness and involvement from pupils across every year group. Pupils have become far more willing to learn about sustainability and take part in Eco initiatives, which has created a positive shift in attitudes across the school. It’s been brilliant to see pupils developing a clearer understanding of why protecting our planet matters for their own futures, and this shared commitment has had a genuinely uplifting impact on the whole school community.”
The judges highlighted several particular strengths:
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Pupil-led assemblies during Road Safety Week helped all year groups engage with transport and sustainability issues.
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Waste and recycling have been explored in creative ways, from Year 7 Christmas recycling projects to inter-house competitions that helped pupils understand the amount of waste produced at school and at home.
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Older students made strong curriculum links through their Geography studies, examining sustainable cities such as Curitiba and evaluating Amsterdam’s Waste-to-Energy approach.
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The school’s commitment to involving pupils, families and the wider community was praised, with regular updates and photographs shared through the school website and social media to celebrate initiatives such as litter-picking projects and plastic bottle recycling.
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The electronic Eco Board displayed on school TVs was recognised as a highly effective way of promoting key environmental messages. Staff and student assemblies linked to events such as Second Hand September and World Water Day also helped ensure the whole school community remained engaged.
A huge thank you and congratulations to Miss Aughton, whose dedicated hard work has been instrumental in leading the school’s environmental work and securing this award.
Mr Drury, Headteacher, said: “Thank you to everyone who has supported our eco journey. This achievement belongs to the whole Friary community, and we look forward to building on this success in the years ahead.”
